Leadership Conference Files Brief in Support of University of Michigan
Feature Story by civilrights.org staff - 2/26/2003
The Supreme Court should not second guess educators' and policymakers' judgment that colleges and universities need to prepare outstanding people of diverse backgrounds for leadership, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR) and Leadership Conference on Civil Rights Education Fund (LCCREF) stated in a friend-of-the-court brief in support of the University of Michigan's affirmative action programs.
Like the more than five dozen amicus briefs filed in support of the university, LCCR/LCCREF's brief argued that racial diversity serves government interests of the highest order, and can be counted among the nation's greatest strengths. LCCR/LCCREF contrasted America's success in weaving successive waves of immigrants into the social fabric of the country and creating a strong, unified nation, with the ethnic, racial, and religious violence that has erupted in the Balkans, the Middle East, Central Africa, and Northern Ireland.
LCCR/LCCREF argued that, against this backdrop, in the university setting, the government has a compelling interest in continuing to develop leadership to deal with the challenges of pluralism, avoid the conflicts of other diverse societies, and continue to galvanize diversity as one of America's greatest strengths.
The LCCR/LCCREF brief also met head-on the Bush Administration's argument that so-called "percentage plans" are a satisfactory racially neutral alternative, making the case that percentage plans are in fact ill-suited to achieving racial diversity and depreciate diversity by relying on continued educational segregation.
Briefs supporting the university were signed by more than 60 corporations, more than 100 universities, retired military leaders, labor unions, civil rights and religious groups and nearly 14,000 law students.
Eleven K-12 organizations joined in a brief supporting the university, highlighting the relevant legal and policy issues relating to diversity in the K-12 setting.
Related Links
- Full LCCR/LCCREF brief (pdf)
